The Class Action Playbook

The Class Action Playbook is a unique and strategic "how to" guide for practitioners seeking to bring or defend a class action. Every important issue is addressed, including the initial shape of the proposed action, choice of forum, case-management schedules, pre-certification discovery and motions activity, briefing and argument of the class-certification motion, class notice, preparation for trial, class settlements, and the binding effects of class action judgments.

Experienced practitioners Brian Anderson and Andrew Trask analyze what decisions the plaintiff and defendant must make at each stage of a proposed class action, and the considerations that might drive different strategies at each stage. The authors explain the importance of every issue, the choices available to each side, and the factors each side should consider in choosing the best path to follow.

This Second Edition covers six relevant cases from the historic 2010 and 2011 Supreme Court terms; official commentary on class actions with citations to the new American Law Institute's statement of the Principles of Aggregated Litigation, and where it upholds plaintiffs' or defendants' arguments; a discussion on emerging class action litigation tactics, including the use of arbitration clauses and the use of motions to strike class allegations; new appellate-court trends in class-action law, including developments in adequacy of representation, superiority, and use of experts at class certification.

Brian Anderson is a partner in the Washington, DC office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Over the past fifteen years, he has defended over 400 aggregated actions and class actions in state and federal courts in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

Andrew Trask is counsel in the Washington, DC office of McGuireWoods LLP. His practice focuses on class action defense and managing portfolios of products-liability and consumer-fraud class actions in state and federal courts for a Fortune 500 automotive company.